UP|Latin America

Future of Puerto Rico?

BoDragon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:13:59 +0000

If Hawaii has been able to maintain their cultural identity since its statehood nearly fifty years ago, why would Puerto Rico be any different?

Future of Puerto Rico?

nowyano — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:09:57 +0000

I don't think Puerto Rico would want statehood, nor would they want independence. Every time I go to Ponce people realize that without being a US territory they would lose a lot of services. However, many people still believe that if they became a full fledged US state then they would lose their cultural identity. So my guess would be they would stay as a territory, if not indefinitely than for a long time after I am dead.

Guatemala City

tombarnes — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:46:03 +0000

View from the Westin Camino Real- not terribly inspiring from this vantage point

Guatemala City

tombarnes — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:10:26 +0000

The Cathedral, Guatemala City

Going to Costa Rica!

PolarBoy — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:49:05 +0000

It rains briefly every day in the morning, although that might be seasonal (I was there in early spring). Nothing to be alarmed about though. I was in a more ... rural setting. You see a line of fire ants...run the other way. The people are very friendly to Americans, and it is actually the only latin country where "gringo" is a term of endearment. So don't be offended. You will be treated fairly in the markets, but you will want to bargain.

Going to Costa Rica!

comandanteAMASO — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:52:23 +0000

reverbandwhiskey, on Nov 9 2006, 06:48 PM, said:

I am spending two weeks in Costa Rica come December!

Anyone have tips, suggestions, and/or warnings?

i went to jaco and manuel antonio

Latin American cities

Panamaniac — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:25:21 +0000

metrowester, on Jul 9 2008, 07:28 PM, said:

Any thoughts on San Juan or any other city in Puerto Rico?

No.

Latin American cities

metrowester — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:28:33 +0000

Any thoughts on San Juan or any other city in Puerto Rico?

Fidel Castro

tombarnes — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:19:05 +0000

It would appear that there will be no drastic changes in Cuba for the forseeable future. Of course, Raul Castro's appointment was foreordained. There many be a few small changes in currency and so forth, but nothing of major importance. I hope Cuba won't have to wait forever for meaningful change. As I have said before, however, we need to be participants in this as well. Our policies have not worked and we should make an effort to engage Cuba in some way.

The Washington Post

Fidel Castro

tombarnes — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:20:47 +0000

Now that Mr. Castro has said he is stepping aside, does anyone want to prognosticate? My assumption is that Raul will take the helm, but it's possible that one of the current troika may assume power as well. What I don't see is any meaningful change- at least not yet. This may, however, open the door to a more gradual change which might have real meaning. A new administration here could possibly improve relations in a more positive manner than what is currently possible.

sit down,relax...GUADALAJARA TOUR!

comandanteAMASO — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 19:10:02 +0000

ZachariahDaMan, on Dec 6 2006, 09:55 AM, said:

^Where the heck did that picture come from?

WOW...guadalajara girl? or wat??....lol

City Santa Fe in Mexico City

oliver — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:11:51 +0000

abstractadonis, on Aug 28 2007, 03:39 PM, said:

Actually the development of residenctial building, homes and residenctial aartments in SF is one the biggest in Mexico City, i think Santa Fe offers a better quality of living than any other area in Mexico City, of course if you like upscale shopping malls, very urbanized areas where the most important thing is modernization over all.
Althought i love Polanco, Condesa, Coyoacan, Las Lomas, but you enjoy these neighborhoods when you are high class mexican society, when you know how mexican society works and of course if u speak spanish.

I live in Mexico City for a few month now and like it more every day. It is a great city with incredible possibilities. But I still don`t like Santa Fe. A few friends of mine work there, so I spend quite a bit of time there. It is very modern and new, but nothing special. American style restaurants and shopping malls, certainly not a walkable urban area. I much prefer Polanco, Condesa or Coyoacan. Besides Santa Fe is horribly isolated and has the worst connection to the rest of the city. If you live there good luck with commuting to other parts of the city. Overall if you like the European walkable kind of city you certainly will not enjoy Santa Fe, if you like to spend your time in a car and modern US style shoping malls you will certainly like it. But this is the beauty of Mexico City - it offers something to everybody.

Hurricane Dean

TONYCLT — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:37:22 +0000

Huricane Felix made landfall today as a catagory 5 right near the borders of Nicaragua and Honduras, It was 9 years ago when hurricane Mitch hit the same area and killed 11,000 people and Mitch was only a cat. 1 when it hit. With Felix's landfall today it makes it the first time in recorded history that 2 catagory 5 hurricanes made landfall in the same season.

Hurricane Dean

TONYCLT — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:57:41 +0000

Hurricane Felix looks like it will make a direct hit on the Mexican coast not far from where Hurricane Dean hit 2 weeks ago, Felix is forcast to be a major hurricane when it makes landfall. Here is the projected path for Felix though it will more than likely change in the next couple of days.

City Santa Fe in Mexico City

abstractadonis — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:39:56 +0000

oliver, on Apr 8 2007, 04:47 PM, said:

Italimex, I've heard that Santa Fe is mostly a business district and not a good place to live in. It lacks the urban feeling of other parts of Mexico City (walkability, public transportation, parks, restaurants etc.) like Condesa, Polanco or Downtown. Do you agree there? I just drove through Santa Fe and even so it looks sharp I didn't get a good vibe. But I love Mexico City and as a matter of fact will move there in July. Can't wait. Despite its problems it is a wonderful city.

Hurricane Dean

TONYCLT — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:40:53 +0000

cheshireguy, on Aug 22 2007, 12:27 AM, said:

If anyone knows the conditions of the area just north (10 miles) of Mahahual, can they please let me know? We have friends that live there, and others that own/operate the Mayan Beahc Garden hotel ... any information would be greatly appreciated.

There have been little reports coming from the area but one report said:

"Hundreds of homes in the Caribbean town of Majahual collapsed as Dean folded steel girders, destroyed wooden structures and washed away about half of the concrete dock that made the sleepy fishing village into Mexico's second-busiest cruise ship destination".

Another survivor said the storm surge covered almost the entire town in waist-deep sea water. One good thing is there have been no reports of injuries or loss of life.

Hurricane Dean

cheshireguy — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 04:27:59 +0000

Hurricane Dean

TONYCLT — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:44:07 +0000

Hurricane Dean became the first catagory 5 hurricane to hit land in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Andrew slammed into Miami in 1992, Dean made landfall in the port town of Majahual, MX with winds up to 165 mph so far there have been no reports of damage or death but that will change when Dean moves past the area. The good news if there is any is that the storm missed Cozumel and Cancun and hit the less populated areas of the Mexican coastline.

Major Earthquake in Peru

tombarnes — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:58:37 +0000

The situation in Pisco and in Ica is really quite desperate. Drinking water is all but unavailable, creating additional health problems. Dust has added to the misery as well. I was recently in Peru, though we were not in this area. Pisco is supposedly an interesting city. I hope that something of its history can be preserved. All in all, a horrible situation.

BBC News

Major Earthquake in Peru

Raintree21 — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:10:14 +0000

The official death toll has risen to 450 and is expected to rise much higher. The earthquake's magnitude was raised from 7.9 to 8 on Thursday by the U.S. Geological Survey. At least 14 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or greater followed.

Major Earthquake in Peru

Raintree21 — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:53:02 +0000

The country's health minister said the earthquake killed at least 135 people and injuring more than 1,300 others in cities farther to the south but the National Civil Defense Institute's Web site said the quake toll had reached 337 dead and 827 injured.

Major Earthquake in Peru

Raintree21 — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:57:03 +0000

According to CNN.com:

The quake struck at 6:41 p.m. (7:41 p.m. ET) and was centered 25 miles (61 kilometers) west-northwest of Chincha Alta, Peru, and 90 miles (161 kilometers) south-southeast of Lima, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was 25 miles (47 kilometers) below the Earth's surface.

More tremors followed. A magnitude 5.8 quake occurred at 7:02 p.m. (8:02 p.m. ET). It was further inland, centered 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast of Chincha Alta and 111 miles (179 kilometers) east-southeast of Lima.

And at 7:19 p.m., another smaller quake of 5.9 magnitude occurred, centered 30 miles (48 kilometers) south-southwest of Ica, Peru, and 180 miles (290 kilometers) south-southeast of Lima.

Major Earthquake in Peru

Raintree21 — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:30:21 +0000

There are reports of a major earthquake (7.5 magnitude) occuring just off the coast of Peru. Details so far are sketchy. They just issued a tsunami warning for Peru, Chile, and Ecquador and watches issued for just about every other South and Central American country not listed that borders the Pacific Ocean.

sit down,relax...GUADALAJARA TOUR!

abstractadonis — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 22:04:10 +0000

One of the best cities in latinamerica i ever met, this is like the kind of organizated city, very clean and green, modern, cultural, safe and the people are really cute phisically, is like a modern european city i just loved it.

Quote

The Guadalajara pics are very nice; I've known that it was Mexico's 2nd city, but it seems that several other cities steal the limelight - Monterrey, the resorts, and the border cities. Good to see and hear from there.

Monterey and border cities are far from being condered as a second city, actually the most important cities in mexico are part of the central and western area, in lately years northern cities have had a huge and exagerated fast development, such as Monterey, Tijuana, Saltillo, Juarez, Tampico, etc. but the fast growth and the lack of organization and sustentable urban planning, have had terrible consequences as well, such as the crime, over population, unemployment, etc. And the resorts are considered as one of the most important source of economic income to the country, so their main function is the tourism and the commerce althought a lot of them are not far from being big important cities, there are tones of caracteristics a city must fill to be an important city.

Buenos Aires Forum

TONYCLT — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:41:18 +0000

A project has been proposed in Buenos Aires, it has been called Buenos Aires Fourm it is to be a 200 floor 1000 meter tall spiral building on a 163 acre man made island 5 kilometers off the coast, if this project gets the green light to begin construction it will become the worlds tallest structure beating the Burj Dubai, the building is to be completed in 2010 but it will need to start construction soon to make that kind of deadline.

Fidel Castro

beltwayboy07 — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:16:39 +0000

This is Fidel Castro hugging communism. He is, and will always be an enemy of the United States of America.

This is Castro with Hugo Chavez, a socialist who is president of Venezuela.

Fidel Castro

beltwayboy07 — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:06:12 +0000

A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past.
Fidel Castro

A revolution is not a bed of roses.
Fidel Castro

Capitalism is using its money; we socialists throw it away.
Fidel Castro

I am a Marxist Leninist and I will be one until the last day of my life.
Fidel Castro

I am Fidel Castro and we have come to liberate Cuba.
Fidel Castro

I am not a communist and neither is the revolutionary movement.
Fidel Castro

I began revolution with 82 men. If I had do it again, I'd do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action.
Fidel Castro

I began revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action.
Fidel Castro

I find capitalism repugnant. It is filthy, it is gross, it is alienating... because it causes war, hypocrisy and competition.
Fidel Castro

I never saw a contradiction between the ideas that sustain me and the ideas of that symbol, of that extraordinary figure, Jesus Christ.
Fidel Castro

I think that a man should not live beyond the age when he begins to deteriorate, when the flame that lighted the brightest moment of his life has weakened.
Fidel Castro

I would not vote for the mayor. It's not just because he didn't invite me to dinner, but because on my way into town from the airport there were such enormous potholes.
Fidel Castro

If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism.
Fidel Castro

In the Third World, there are 1.3 billion poor people. In other words, one out of every three inhabitants lives in poverty.
Fidel Castro

Men do not shape destiny, Destiny produces the man for the hour.
Fidel Castro

More than 820 million people in the world suffer from hunger; and 790 million of them live in the Third World.
Fidel Castro

No thieves, no traitors, no interventionists! This time the revolution is for real!
Fidel Castro

North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity.
Fidel Castro

The revenues of Cuban state-run companies are used exclusively for the benefit of the people, to whom they belong.
Fidel Castro

The revolution is a dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters.
Fidel Castro

The universities are available only to those who share my revolutionary beliefs.
Fidel Castro

They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?
Fidel Castro

More Mexico City

El Norte�o — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 03:35:53 +0000

In reference to history - there is no equal in all the western hemisfer in my opinion!
----
referente a la cuestion de historia - no hay igual en todo del hemisferio occidental yo creo! viva Mexico!

Lima, Peru

tombarnes — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 04:17:59 +0000

Thanks for posting these photos! I think we are going to be in Lima, Cuzco and possibly the Sacred Valley. A friend told me that 4 nights in Lima was too much, but I'm beginning not to think so. It would appear that there is a lot to do in Lima. Thanks again for the pictures and the advice. Tom

Lima, Peru

gsupstate — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 22:52:46 +0000

Hi Tom,
Sorry this took me a while to post. Here a few photos from past trips.

Below are some photos of the Miraflores Park Hotel:

Used to stay at the Miraflores Park, now stay at the Golf Los Incas (huge suites, hot tubs on your balcony with teak furniture, overlooking the city, marble baths, two free Pisco Sours every evening, turndown service, spa, etc).....all for only about 89.00 US. Amazing!!

If you do get some time to spend in Lima I highly recommend it. I like Lima better than Santiago, Buenos Aires, or Bogota. The people seem more real and more welcoming. And then Peruvian food......WOW, WOW......it's up there with the French and the Japanese as an excellent cullinary country. There is a great restaurant on a pier (oceanfront).....can not for the life of me remember the name, but every driver knows it. It juts out into the Pacific.....wonderful outdoor dining.....the best ceviche and best Pisco Sours. White wooden building, almost looks English. You pretty much can't go wrong with any restaurant in Lima. I've never had a bad meal there.

I would suggest hanging out in the following three areas....Miraflores Park, San Isidro and Surco. They all seem to be the three nicest areas of the city. When I'm there I hire a car service and have the driver / car for the entire day. He drops me off and waits while I'm in meetings, shopping or eating. Shockingly cheap!!!!!

Anyway, have a great time!!!!!!